Hyderabad: Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan on Saturday said the conventional internal security landscape, which the country has grappled with over decades, has changed irrevocably, while narcotics, cybercrime, illegal immigration and others have emerged as new challenges.
Addressing the Dikshant Parade of the 78th Regular Recruit (RR) batch of IPS at the Sardar Vallabhbhai National Police Academy (SVPNPA) here, he shared Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s message emphasising zero-tolerance towards terrorism, time-bound action, and improved intelligence coordination.
The young officers have an important role to play in securing borders through the Centre’s Smart Border Initiative, which involves modern techniques, integrated surveillance, digital systems and better coordination among different security agencies, Shah said.
He stressed the need for effective action against drug trafficking networks, better coordination, technology-based investigation and raising awareness among people to realise the goal of ‘Nasha-Mukt Bharat’ (drug-free India).
Shah said the real identity of a police officer is built on the basis of conduct, impartiality, dutifulness and people’s confidence more than on their post and popularity.
That’s why the young officers should stay away from publicity and focus on results. They should let their work become their identity, he said.
Mohan urged the graduating IPS officers to prepare for new internal security challenges like narcotics, cybercrime and illegal immigration.
“In the technology domain, the young officers would encounter challenges on social media, which are now emerging in an entirely different dimension”.
“Fake messages, deep fake videos, all kinds of altered reality are now available on social media. It creates unnecessary mobilisation, and ultimately it leads to law and order problems,” he said.
The problem of technology and social media would confront the young officers, and they will have to find resources to come up with creative solutions which are as per law, he said.
On the paradigm shift in the conventional internal security landscape, Mohan said militant naxalism has largely ended, while insurgency in the North East is now reduced to minuscule levels.
“What is happening in certain parts of the North East is not insurgency. It is largely ethnic conflict,” he said.
Through a series of ceasefire agreements and tripartite agreements, most of the erstwhile insurgent groups have joined the mainstream, he said.
“Homegrown terrorism has also come to, more or less, an end. Foreign-inspired terrorism, except for a few parts of the country, is no longer visible in any other part,” he said.
Although he stated that homegrown terrorism has dwindled to minuscule proportions, the recent Red Fort blast in Delhi indicates that it has not come to an end, Mohan said. The problem of homegrown terrorism and foreign-inspired terrorism has not fully ended, he said.
Talking about the menace of narcotics, Mohan said the Home Minister has publicly announced that the country would be free of narcotics in three years, Mohan said.
On the challenge of cybercrime, he said people with little skills and knowledge can easily become cyber criminals. Cybercrime has become an “easy business” with the proliferation of mule accounts in the banking system and the proliferation of fake SIM cards, he said.
While central institutions handle cyber threats, the foremost battles would have to be fought in the states and Union Territories, he said.
The top official also highlighted the challenge of foreigners staying in the country illegally, committing crimes, radicalising people and distorting the markets of the country.
While India adheres to ‘VasudhaivaKutumbakam’ (the idea of treating the world as a family), the primary rights over the country’s resources belong to the citizens of the country, he said. As a national policy, illegal foreigners should be identified, and action should be taken against them as per law, he said.
Regarding anonymisation of crime, he cited instances such as hit jobs being advertised on the dark net, with money being transferred to carry them out and threat calls being made through a VPN from foreign locations.
Technology has to keep pace with the law enforcement efforts, Mohan said.
Noting that the Centre is prioritising technology in policing, he said it has set up a network of young IPS officers utilising Artificial Intelligence to modernise law enforcement.
The parade marks the culmination of Phase-1 training of the 78th Regular Recruit batch of IPS.
A total of 151 officer trainees, including 37 women officers, took part in the Dikshant Parade. The 151 officer trainees include 16 foreign officers from neighbouring countries.
